I’m 20 years old, and have spent the past 2 years taking care of my disabled mother. I’ve had to put off college and a life of my own and this is very frustrating. I don’t know what to do anymore.
Here’s the situation. My mother is 54 years old, has diabetes and numerous leg and foot problems that have left her confined to a wheelchair for almost 10 years. One of her feet is very very misshapen from when she broke it. It’s very hard for diabetics to heal, and she had some very lousy doctors. She does not have use of that ankle anymore, and her foot is twisted in a way that it doesn’t look as thought she could stand on it or walk. Although she has used crutches to stand up and go to the bathroom or get in the shower for many years.
One month ago she leaned forward in her wheelchair to pick something up, slipped off, and broke her femur when she hit the floor. She had to go to the hospital, and they had to put a metal rod in her femur to hold it together. During the operation, while putting the rod in, the doctors broke her hip, and ended up having to fix that as well. They came back and told us it was because she had signs of osteoporosis and her bones were deteriorating. She is currently in physical therapy so she can come home soon.

Alright now that I’ve explained that, my problem is that we need help financially. My mom has continued to work even though she is in a wheelchair. I’ve suggested early retirement and so have her doctors and co-workers. She doesn’t see any other way to pay the bills than to continue working. My job, since I was in high school, has been to take care of her. I drive her to wherever she needs to go, I take care of her dogs, I do all the household chores, cook her meals, and help her get dressed and use the bathroom. My life is catering to her needs. I don’t get to go out with friends, or go to school, or hold a job. She IS my job.
But she pays the bills and she works. I wish this were not the case, but she sees no other way to make money or get medical insurance than to keep working, even though she does qualify for disability. She won’t go on disability because she says she can’t afford to live on what it would give her. I wish I could get a job or go to school, but it’s her doctor’s instructions that she have a full-time caretaker. I have to be with her every minute of every day should she need anything. I’m not putting her in a nursing home either, and there’s no one around who can help. No other family, and no friends.

A typical day for me is: Waking up around 5:30am, waking my mom up, helping her to the bathroom, getting her dressed and ready for work, and making her breakfast. Then I drive her to work, help her out of the car and into the building and to her classroom. I go home and spend the next 7-8 hours cleaning, doing laundry, running errands, feeding and watering the dogs and taking them out, and maybe I’ll get some time to relax before i have to go pick up my mom. Then I go get her, load her into the car, take her wherever she wants to go (even though I do all the grocery shopping and run all the errands, she still makes me take her to places like Walgreen’s just so she can look.) When we get home I take care of her needs, get her out of her work clothes and into whatever she will wear to bed that night, fix dinner, feed the dogs, take them out, clean up the kitchen, and take the trash out. By the time I’m done for the day it’s usually 8 or 9pm so I just watch TV with her until we both go to bed around 10 or 11.

I wish there were some way I could get paid to take care of her. I want her to quit working because it’s a lot of stress on her and I know she only does it for the money and the medical insurance. But I also do not want to get a job and hire some stranger to look after her or put her in a nursing home. She hates the idea of an elderly community anyway. Her dogs (4 miniature pinschers) are a LOT of work as they get into everything and make a mess constantly. I personally don’t like them, but they’re her "babies" so I look after them and put up with it.

Is there anything I could do to get financial help? We don’t qualify for food stamps because my mom makes too much. She claims me as a dependent on her taxes. One of her doctors told me about being a "provider"? But I don’t know what that is, and she wouldn’t give me any more information because she didn’t know. I’ve tried looking it up and found nothing. Her doctors are never much help. Most of them have been horrible and my mom has wanted to file lawsuits against them, but she never does. We live in a small town, and the better doctors that she should be seeing are at least a 3 hour drive away, and too expensive.

I really appreciate any help or advice on this. I know there’s people out there who know what it feels like to be in my shoes as they’ve gone through it with their aging parents. Sometimes you just feel so alone. Thank you for any help.

I have dysbiosia, which is a terrible disease to have. I’ve had it a long time. Going back in time, I realize what probably caused it and what made it worse. But now, it’s nearly impossible to get rid of. I’m hoping for divine healing—but would like to know if anyone else has had it or if there are doctors who have knowledge of it. This disease is not well-known among doctors because it was discovered by Jordan Rubin, not so long ago. It’s an intestinal disease with 19 symptoms and I’ve had or have all the symptoms except rheumatoid arthritis (I have osteoarthritis) and cancer (I adhere to an eating plan with lots of anti-cancer foods and drinks.)
The symptoms causing problems now are allergies like rashes (red areas where it gets hot and sweaty or breaking out on my face–red and puffy) and chronic bleeding which was an infection. I did take antibiotics and it went away for 3 months and came back. I do not want to take the very painful uterine test over again to find out the same thing again. Thanks for your help and don’t answer if you don’t know something please.

Fruit juice I made myself and being a vegan had cured many of my diseases which many doctors could not cure.
Nutrition from animals’ flesh?I don’t believe it.I feel more healthy ever sicne I became a vegan and I don’t feel I need any nutrition from animals flesh or other parts of animals’ dead bodies.Besides,it is not delicious food but cruel and brutal food.

I’m not much of a junk-food addict I don’t believe. Sure, I eat plenty of sweet stuff but most of it is healthy. Last year, I ate choco chip waffles for breakfast every single morning, but this year I usually eat cereal with banana slices, a waffle and a banana/apple, and for lunch, I eat a PB&J sandwich, a fruit, and some sort of snack. Recently, though, I was recommended to gain weight by several doctors (to get up to 95 to 100) and right now I’m probably around 87 pounds. Yet, I don’t want to eat too much junk. What are some healthy snacks I can enjoy fully but not feel guilty about?

If vitamin tablets give you the same amount of vitamins and mineral, if they give you everything your system needs, what’s the point of eating fruits and vegetables if it makes no difference?
PS. Answers preferably from anyone qualified in the area of nutrition, doctors, nurses etc.

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